Gov. Cuomo's Aide Remains Critical After Being Shot In Head
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- A $12,500 reward is being offered for information in the shooting of an aide to Gov. Andrew Cuomo who is fighting for his life after being caught in the crossfire between two gangs in Brooklyn.
Carey Gabay's family has been keeping vigil by his hospital bedside, CBS2's Janelle Burrell reported.
Gabay, first deputy general counsel at the Empire State Development Corp., was shot in the head Monday during a pre-dawn party celebrating the West Indian Day parade.
"He's not doing well,'' Cuomo said Tuesday during a visit to Puerto Rico to discuss ways New York could help the U.S. territory's economic crisis.
Cuomo called the 43-year-old Harvard-educated lawyer "an outstanding public servant'' who joined his administration in 2011 because "he wanted to make a difference."
"He could have done anything with that education and he chose to be in state service because he wanted to use his skills to help others," Cuomo said. "He made a fraction of what he could have earned. Just a beautiful guy."
Now the Harvard-educated lawyer remains on life support, CBS2's Hazel Sanchez reported.
Cuomo said this shooting hits close to home.
"I've been to too many funerals, I've seen too many bodies, I've dealt with too many parents crying, losing children," he said. "This brings it home in a personal way."
Gov. Cuomo's Aide Remains Critical After Being Shot In Head
Gabay was walking with his brother near the Brooklyn parade route at 3:40 a.m. Monday when he was caught in the crossfire.
Investigators said one gunman was shooting from the street while a second fired from the deck area of the Ebbets Field Houses. Gabay was hit in the head by a stray bullet as he dove between parked cars for safety.
Police said at least 16 shots were fired.
"We have recovered a firearm," said Patrick Conry, chief of Brooklyn detectives, said Monday. "Based on ballistics evidence recovered, it appears there were two groups of people shooting back and forth at each other."
Police Commissioner Bill Bratton said Tuesday that Gabay was an "innocent victim." He said that investigators were focusing on two gangs whose members are well-known to police.
"I am very confident that we will solve that crime," he told reporters, including 1010 WINS' Juliet Papa. "We have a pretty good idea of the two gangs involved, we know everybody that's in those gangs."
Cuomo called the shooting "another act of pure randomness" of gun violence and said it was the result of too many guns on the street and guns in the hands of people who shouldn't have them, 1010 WINS' Steve Kastenbaum reported.
Cuomo: Shooting Of Aide 'Act Of Pure Randomness'
"I'm not anti-gun, I own a gun. What's happening to me in New York and to New Yorkers is, yes, we have laws on the books that protect people. The guns are coming in from other states," he said. "The only way to deal with this is a national gun policy. It doesn't mean no good if we have the right laws in place in New York but the guns are coming in from New Jersey or from Virginia or from Mississippi or from any state down south."
"How many weeks do we have to have with the same story over and over and over about the insanity that this country is allowing to continue with violence and loss of life of innocent people because we have people who have no business having guns having guns," Cuomo added.
Gabay's family issued the following statement:
"Carey has always been an inspiration to all of us and he continues to inspire us with his fight for survival. We are leaning on our faith and asking for continued support during this extremely difficult time."
Mayor Bill de Blasio said Monday that the shooting reinforces the need for getting illegal guns off the streets.
"So here in this city, we will fight every day, we will use every tool we have to deprive criminals of guns," he said.
The shooting was one of several outbursts of violence in the neighborhoods surrounding the parade. A 24-year-old man was stabbed to death near Grand Army Plaza.
Former Mayor Rudy Giuliani said de Blasio could have done a better job policing the parade, saying it was something he "paid a great deal of attention to."
"If you begin taking guns four and five days before that parade, you reduce dramatically what happens," he said. "If you set a rule, 'No shooting off of guns for fun,' you could prevent possibly what happened that night."
There have been no arrests in either incident.
Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 800-577-TIPS, visit www.nypdcrimestoppers.com or text tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then enter TIP577.
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